The San Diego Padres' ongoing quest for a World Series (or at least a playoff title). "You know that many runners enter a race, but only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

A Loss is a Loss

I do have to say, last night’s game was CRAZY!!! First of all, I had no doubt that my boys would be able to get a few hits and a bunch of runs off of Ubaldo Jimenez. I just didn’t account for the fact that the Rockies would get a few hits and a bunch of runs off of Kevin Correia.

Kevin Correia is a great pitcher. At least he was last year. But I was looking at some of his numbers yesterday and I realized that he isn’t doing as well as I thought he was. Last year he was a complete surprise and could have even been called our ace. But now, I’m started to get worried about him. Once I get over my anger, then I’ll really start to get worried about him.

Here’s where he’s at right now: his record is 5-6 with an ERA of 5.49. In 15 games started, he’s given up 49 earned runs, with 11 home runs. Not good. Not good at all. In fact, I think he’s the worst pitcher on the club, numbers wise. Tsk tsk.

And last night’s game was awful for him!! Before I could blink we were down 4-0. And then 6-0. And then 8-0. It was horrible!! He only went five innings, giving up six runs on seven hits. He walked six and struck out three. He gave up two home runs! I am very upset that he lost the game like that, but more than that, I’m worried! This pitching staff has been practically invincible! We can’t have guys going out there and giving up six runs. I’m sorry. It’s just not acceptable.

So what’s going wrong for Kevin Correia?

I’m not a pitching coach, and I don’t get to study the players on TV like I’d love to, so I can’t tell you what’s wrong. I don’t know if he’s made a change in his mechanics, if he’s going through something that just won’t get off his mind, if it was just the night, the batters, the team that he was facing. I don’t know what it is, but I know that the Padres have an excellent pitching coach(s) that will find out what’s wrong and will fix it.

Okay, now to the good news. The bad news is that we lost 10-6, which is an atrocious amount of runs for our pitching staff to give up. But the good news is that we did get six runs. But the bad news is that we had the tying run at the plate and we didn’t come through.

I’ll talk about the good news a little. First off, I was super not happy because we were no-hit through five innings. Before the game, I refused to believe that the best pitcher in the majors would be able to hold down my Padres. And we did get to him, eventually, but it was super hard waiting through all those innings just dying for one hitter, any hitter, to do his job and get a hit.

Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, T. Gwynn led off the inning with a walk. Eck singled (finally), and an out later, Chase Headley drove in our first run of the game. Scott Hairston then hit a three-run homer to make it a ballgame, 8-4. It was soooo exciting!!

Then in the seventh, Adrian Gonzalez drove in one with two outs. Chase was batting next, and Adrian got to go to second because of a balk. Then Chase singled, which sent Adrian to third, setting up the stage for Scott Hairston again.

Here’s where the turning point of the game was. Scotty hit a line drive right down the left field line. If it was just a tiny bit higher, it would have been a three-run-game-tying homer. Now, this would be a moot point if the Padres had been able to get those two runs in. We only got one run on Scotty’s double, so Chase and Scotty were still there on base with two outs. We were not able to come through.

It was not a good game. I mean, I guess part of it was good because we did come back slightly. But the pitching stunk, the hitting wasn’t enough, and we didn’t get a win. Blech.

But I figured that if we didn’t get last night’s game, it was okay because we could always get tonight’s and tomorrow’s. Our first-place lead is safe. We can spare one game, but only one, per series. Preferably none at all, but you know, you win some and you lose some.

Tonight, let’s win some. We’ve got Wade LeBlanc going out there against Jason Hammel. We can do this!!

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4 Comments

I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I share many of the same feelings! Keep it up you’ve been one of my favorite bloggers and favorite Padres fans! You’ve been bookmarked for me for a while now.

Anyways. I think the problem with Correia stems from that break of bereavement he took. Maybe he still hasn’t recovered from the pain of losing his brother? Maybe that break took something from him? Either way, I really hope he can do better in the coming weeks.

I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I share many of the same feelings! Keep it up you’ve been one of my favorite bloggers and favorite Padres fans! You’ve been bookmarked for me for a while now.

Anyways. I think the problem with Correia stems from that break of bereavement he took. Maybe he still hasn’t recovered from the pain of losing his brother?
Maybe that break took something from him?
Either way I really hope he can do better in the coming weeks.

Wow, thanks for reading and commenting, squallnate! I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying my blog. You know, as I was writing this, I started to wonder if maybe it had something to do with his brother. Kevin just has not been himself, and something like that could definitely be a distraction. I’m sure that he’ll bounce back in his next start but I’m just a little concerned now. Again, thanks so much for reading!!

Funny, I feel the same way about James Shields for us. He is giving up a ton of home runs and just isn’t himself. Correia is much better than his numbers indicate and it is a shame that there is no easy fix. The good thing is that, unlike us, you have been able to hang on to first place!!!

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